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April 23, 2007
Brooklynites Call for Mayor and Governor to Halt Forest City Ratner's Premature “Atlantic Yards” Demolitions
Project Cannot Move Forward Due to Lawsuits
BROOKLYN, New York – Around one hundred Brooklyn residents protested, early this morning, against developer Forest City Ratner’s commencement of demolitions for its “Atlantic Yards” project. Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn (DDDB) organized the protest against Ratner's premature demolitions.
In the next two months Forest City Ratner plans to demolish 15 buildings within the proposed project site. Demolition of four of those buildings began today.
In front of the buildings along Flatbush Avenue, the protestors displayed signs with slogans such as: “Gov. Spitzer and Mayor Bloomberg: Stop Creating Blight,” “Gov. Spitzer: Albany Reform Begins With Atlantic Yards”, and “These Demolitions Are Premature.”
Mayor Bloomberg and Governor Spitzer are allowing these demolitions to proceed well before the 8 million square foot, $4 billion project has been shown to be legal and financially viable.
“Though some demolitions may start, 13 property owners and renters are in federal court alleging that the use of eminent domain for "Atlantic Yards" violates the United States Constitution,” said Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn (DDDB) spokeswoman Candace Carponter. “If that lawsuit succeeds, it will make it impossible to build the arena, or the skyscraper-laden superblocks planned by the developer.” (see map)
There is also a lawsuit in State Supreme Court that could require the project to undergo a new environmental review by the Spitzer administration’s Empire State Development Corporation and a new vote by the Public Authorities Control Board, where Governor Spitzer has replaced Governor Pataki as one of the three votes on that board. A hearing on that suit, filed by 26 community and civic organizations, is scheduled for May 3rd at 3:30 in Manhattan State Supreme Court.
“Ratner’s demolitions are premature and an attempt to intimidate residents, and realize facts on the ground, creating blight–where none existed–by demolition. This is a classic tactic, used by developers abusing eminent domain, which reached a predictable outcome recently in Norwood, Ohio: a whole neighborhood was demolished, and when residents challenging eminent domain finally won their lawsuit, three houses remained in a field of devastation by demolition, with no ‘Plan B’ from the developer or government,” DDDB spokesman Daniel Goldstein said. “Wednesday’s protest is a call to our political leaders to avoid that irresponsible, undesirable and dangerous scenario.”
“These demolitions are occurring on Mayor Bloomberg’s and Governor Spitzer’s watch. They need to act now to protect the community from repeating the ‘urban renewal’ mistakes of the past, and stop these demolitions–they have the power to do so,” Carponter said.
Posted by lumi at April 23, 2007 10:51 AM